Government Shutdown - Sep 2025 Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This, and the FY26 Senate budgets are actually not bad for most agencies. It’s the House bills and President’s proposed budget that have the large cuts. That’s another reason it’s silly to expend political capital in the Senate now on a clean CR, which also did not have cuts and maintains spending level from the last Biden budget.

But we’ve already seen that the admin won’t spend what’s appropriated. So what’s to stop them from implementing their proposed cuts in the CR?

Nothing and the SC allowed it.

Is SCOTUS getting paid during this shutdown?

Yes, courts keep running on fees.

Not every place run by fees though is getting paid. I'm not in the judiciary, but they aren't going to pay people in my fee-funded office until after the shutdown is over. I'm really salty about it because I'm clearly being used as a bargaining chip since the funding for my pay has nothing to do with what is going on in Congress right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of people say things like "history will be on their side." I 100% agree. but there are times when I question if anyone ever cares about history anymore? that means nothing in America anymore. what a sad and dumb country.

I am a historian (furloughed!) and I had a hard realization about a decade ago that learning more history doesn't actually help you avoid repeating the wrongs of the past if people have bad *values.* Like, if you study the Civil War or WW2 and come out of it still a white supremacist, your horrible morals overruled any lessons you should have taken. Hitler is widely quoted as drawing on the Armenian genocide as an example to follow, for instance.

I wish we could start an "Ask a Historian" thread that wouldn't turn into a dumpster fire. PP, I appreciate your work!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Awesome WH announced construction of the $200 million ballroom will continue during the shut down and American soliders will go without pay.

If only the Dems could effectively harness these types of facts and message them...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The air traffic controllers and the TSA could end this situation quickly.

Flying is a luxury not a necessity.

Are you from 1945? There is nothing luxurious about flying! Means to and end purely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of people say things like "history will be on their side." I 100% agree. but there are times when I question if anyone ever cares about history anymore? that means nothing in America anymore. what a sad and dumb country.

I am a historian (furloughed!) and I had a hard realization about a decade ago that learning more history doesn't actually help you avoid repeating the wrongs of the past if people have bad *values.* Like, if you study the Civil War or WW2 and come out of it still a white supremacist, your horrible morals overruled any lessons you should have taken. Hitler is widely quoted as drawing on the Armenian genocide as an example to follow, for instance.

Why does the federal government need historians? Waste of money if you ask me.

Don't worry, I'll probably be fired shortly. Certainly, the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Library of Congress, and National Register of Historic Places don't need historians. There's absolutely nothing historic in the government.

I think this is what is wrong with America - trump people they know how to run the government and know everything. As in I know what the government does and they don't need a historical. The level of ignorance that = someone knowing enough to be dangerous is breathtaking

We are getting way off topic, but please don't fool yourself that this is ignorance. The Trump administration folks are very, very aware of what they are doing and why. You can boil MAGA down to one thing - the US is going to become a majority minority country sometime in the mid to late 2040's. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The air traffic controllers and the TSA could end this situation quickly.

Flying is a luxury not a necessity.

Are you from 1945? There is nothing luxurious about flying! Means to and end purely.

According to the law, during a shutdown the government can only perform activities “necessary to protect human life and government property.” How does ensuring people can take their vacation flight fit within those categories!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This, and the FY26 Senate budgets are actually not bad for most agencies. It’s the House bills and President’s proposed budget that have the large cuts. That’s another reason it’s silly to expend political capital in the Senate now on a clean CR, which also did not have cuts and maintains spending level from the last Biden budget.

But we’ve already seen that the admin won’t spend what’s appropriated. So what’s to stop them from implementing their proposed cuts in the CR?

Yeah, but then that's on the GOP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is my first rodeo with a shutdown. We have some cushion financially, but not a lot. Is there anywhere for centralized information on things like filing for unemployment (can we?), banks that might give no interest loans, etc?

Thanks.

We got paid this week and you’ll get a check in two weeks for the full week and 2 days plus orderly shut down time logged, so you’ll miss your first bit of pay (2.5 days worth) in two weeks if this drags that long. So hopefully it wont even come to that.

DP - I didn't realize that. Good news.

DP but depends when your pay day falls. My pay period ends this Friday so next Friday the 10th will be my first paycheck that is short. If this goes for ~3 weeks and I miss the check on the 24th I will then be nearly a month out from having a full paycheck. And I’m married to a contractor so they work get backpay.

We have savings and will manage, but I’m really pissy that my family has to potentially lose thousands of dollars and stretch our liquidity right now while the fat cats continue to collect their paychecks.

Funny how MAGA claimed to want to drain the swamp but all they did was empower the swamp monsters. Note that the golden ballroom construction will be ongoing during all this. Let them eat cake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome WH announced construction of the $200 million ballroom will continue during the shut down and American soliders will go without pay.

the ballroom is privately funded.

Those are bribes, dear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The air traffic controllers and the TSA could end this situation quickly.

Flying is a luxury not a necessity.

I bet you also believe other countries are paying the tariffs, not Americans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The air traffic controllers and the TSA could end this situation quickly.

Flying is a luxury not a necessity.

What an asinine comment. My hometown is in oil country. Since fracking, every single flight, every day is full to our 4 gate airport. It's like one flight an hour from Dallas and Houston on Southwest, United, or American. Here in 2025 flying is a business necessity. If Exxon or Halliburton or Pioneer can't service their wells Ted Cruz and John Cornyn are going to hear about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome WH announced construction of the $200 million ballroom will continue during the shut down and American soliders will go without pay.

the ballroom is privately funded.

Those are bribes, dear.

Not to mention the optics are bad. The president gloating about his golden ballroom while refusing to fund healthcare. But MAGA eats it up. They will defend their cult leader to their own demise and cheer him for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Awesome WH announced construction of the $200 million ballroom will continue during the shut down and American soliders will go without pay.

If only the Dems could effectively harness these types of facts and message them...

Cult doesn’t care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This, and the FY26 Senate budgets are actually not bad for most agencies. It’s the House bills and President’s proposed budget that have the large cuts. That’s another reason it’s silly to expend political capital in the Senate now on a clean CR, which also did not have cuts and maintains spending level from the last Biden budget.

+1. This is why I am perplexed too- I feel like they are wasting political capital that would be better spent later. Like what are they realistically going to get out of this? You know Schumer will blink before Trump does.

It's because they and their supporters do not know how to win against Mr Trump. They have tried everything and always failed. They took this shutdown route because YOU criticized them last time mercilessly for caving. Now they took a hard line and YOU are now saying they shouldn't have. This sums up the state of the Democratic party and their strategy.

Not quite. PP above had it right. We have been told at our agency that we should plan for the request as our spending projections under the CR. Senate mark and last year’s appropriations were more than double. Vought is not going to act in good faith.

He will act in good faith you just might get fired.

Don't care. The damage to the country is far greater if they go through with impoundment than it is to my life. That's not good faith -- Congress deems a certain level of spending as its priority. Vought thinks it is a ceiling and the actual level can be arbitrary. For now, they are squeezing sectors that Rs think are "liberal" but I worry that two can play the game. Rs aren't guaranteed complete control of all levers of power forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see a lot of people say things like "history will be on their side." I 100% agree. but there are times when I question if anyone ever cares about history anymore? that means nothing in America anymore. what a sad and dumb country.

I am a historian (furloughed!) and I had a hard realization about a decade ago that learning more history doesn't actually help you avoid repeating the wrongs of the past if people have bad *values.* Like, if you study the Civil War or WW2 and come out of it still a white supremacist, your horrible morals overruled any lessons you should have taken. Hitler is widely quoted as drawing on the Armenian genocide as an example to follow, for instance.

Why does the federal government need historians? Waste of money if you ask me.

Especially if AI can summarize all the history for you anyway.